May 4, 2009

The delicious sensation of singing a note well – fully embodied, perfectly
in tune, in the center of your breath, exquisitely placed in the mask, and
so on – is a powerful experience. It is a human experience where the
physical body becomes a channel for something greater. It can be so
affirming that the singer can be loathe to let it go.

It is this deliciousness that turns eighth notes into quarters, puts a dot
on longer values, and turns adroit melismas into indistinct miasmas. What
the body so easily forgets, the spirit can remember: There is another not
right behind this one, but THIS note must be released for the next to
deliver itself through you. THIS is a “letting go” as an affirmation of
abundance over scarcity – of the human being as the voice of creativity
itself instead of a slave to simple beauty.

The theme of this concert (a chorus I sing with performs this weekend),
“Flights of Release and Return,” asks us to release easily and appropriately
with the faith and confidence that the next note will be there, ready for
deliverance, when we choose to bring it forth.

Let go your delicious hold of where you are now and receive the beauty of
where you are going.